Can you hear the difference between a $ 1,000 and $ 8,000 violin bow? | Violin Lounge TV #372
Two professional violinists demonstrate and discuss the different price classes of Arcus S-series violin bows
In their assortment Arcus indicates the price and quality of their bows by numbers ranging from 4 to 9.
We were curious what the differences are, so we tried them out!
Video content:
00:48 general overview of the bows
03:26 Arcus S4 violin bow review
05:54 Arcus S6 violin bow review
08:04 Arcus S8 violin bow review
09:50 Arcus S9 violin bow review
Did you hear the difference?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Hi! I'm Zlata
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whow….wat kan die mw. prachtig spelen. Met iedere strijkstok is het een feest om naar haar te luisteren!!
als ik zou moeten kiezen, wat moeilijk is als iemand zo goed speelt…..hoe hoger het nummer vd strijkstok vanaf s4…hoe voller de strijkstok klinkt.
tussen s8 en s9 hoor ik geen verschil
gr. Arie
Jaaa, Giedre speelt zo mooi! 🙂
Never thought that bows made such a large difference. I think editing could have been better by having the same piece played one after the other changing only the bow to hear how it differs in different uses more easily. But for people that have been playing for decades I bet you guys can hear the difference instantly. Still an awesome video, though I doubt I’ll ever get to the level where I would use a bow over a few hundred $$$.
Thank you Silviu. Did you know we recorded similar review videos also of less expensive bow for my bow guide right here?
Just came across your site so watching from the new ones backwards.
Welcome to Violin Lounge! 🙂
Thanks for the video. Clearly there is a difference and you get what you pay for. I would like to comment that I tried a big pile of bows, both carbon and wood, priced similarly to the S4 and felt that all the arcus bows (S4, M4, T4) stood out strongly from the crowd in terms of giving a very direct control over the hairs, and the S4 stood out even among the arcus bows. Although I’m sure the higher priced bows are amazing, the S4 is fantastic for the price.
Yes, it certainly is, thanks for sharing your experience!
I have osteoarthritis in my fingers and a couple of people have recommended I try an Arcus bow. I just purchased a mid-priced Coda-bow (weighs 60 grams) because they are less expensive than the Arcus bows. I can hear a very slight difference from my $1,200 wooden bow. It sounds a little clearer and is a little bit easier to handle. But the differences are small. I am thinking that perhaps I should return the Codabow and spring for an Arcus. Do you think the Arcus T-series 5 or 6 (51 grams) would be easier on my arthritic fingers and hopefully my tone as well? Thank you for your advice.
Hi Kathy, yes, I think it’s worth at least trying Arcus, as they resonate on a different frequency. However, selecting a bow is very personal. Just try them out and see what difference you notice. Also playing with arthritis might ask for some adjustments of your playing technique to make it work. I did some video exchange on that topic with two students inside my program Bow like a Pro.